


Aftermath

by TheVioletSunflower



Category: Ghostbusters (Movies 1984-1989), Ghostbusters - All Media Types
Genre: Autistic Character, Confessions of love, Developing Relationship, It takes place between Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters 2, M/M, This fic is incomplete and will not be updated
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-21
Updated: 2016-10-13
Packaged: 2018-08-10 02:36:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 10,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7827001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheVioletSunflower/pseuds/TheVioletSunflower
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After fighting a monster powerful enough to end the world, both Egon and Ray find themselves unable to sleep.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> In the past two weeks, I have watched the first Ghostbusters movie twice, the second one once, the 2016 film twice, and almost a full season of The Real Ghostbusters. This fic is mostly a way to get out some of the emotions that have come up while I watch.
> 
> I may or may not continue this story. We'll see.
> 
> EDIT: It appears that I will be continuing this story, at least for now.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Egon and Ray have a late night talk.

Egon sighed and got out of bed. It was no use. There was no way he could fall asleep now. Not with all the noise going on in his head. He wrapped himself in his grey silk bathrobe before wandering down the hall of the firehouse into the kitchen. Maybe a cup of tea would calm his nerves so he could go to sleep.

At first, Egon didn't recognize the shape sitting at the kitchen table as a man. He was hunched over, hair messy, terrycloth robe draped shapelessly over his shoulders.

"Raymond?" Egon asked.

Ray jumped, looking up sharply at the man in the doorway before slumping back into his chair. "Oh. It's you."

"May I come in?"

"Yeah," he said, gesturing vaguely to the chair beside him. "But there's nothing left to eat. The ghosts took it all when they escaped the containment system."

Egon sat beside him, saying nothing. Ray really didn't look like he wanted to talk.

They sat in silence for a full minute before Ray spoke. "The Stay Pufft Marshmallow Man? What was I thinking?"

Egon looked at his friends face. His eyes were desperate.

"That thing's got arms and legs! It can move! Think! We're lucky it came after us instead of tearing down buildings and eating people!"

"Raymond."

"Why couldn't I choose something else? A daisy. A daisy couldn't hurt anyone! Or what about a pebble? Something nice and inanimate that can't rip cities apart."

"Raymond."

"Have you heard the figures? Do you know what kind of property damage that thing caused? It's huge! Millions and millions of dollars all because of me! My stupid mistake."

"Raymond!"

"What?!"

Egon put his hand on Ray's shoulder. "It's not your fault. You didn't know what was going to happen. If you hadn't picked Mr. Stay Pufft, one of us would have chosen something else. Possibly something even more dangerous. If we had chosen something else we might not even be here right now to worry."

Ray looked up at him. "Something more dangerous?" he asked pitifully.

"My mind was wandering toward nuclear weaponry," Egon confided.

Ray stared at him. "You mean…"

He nodded. "I could have not only killed us all but been responsible for wiping an entire city off the map."

There was a moment of silence as they both processed that idea.

"Is that why you can't sleep?"

Egon considered for a moment before shaking his head. "No, Ray. It's something else."

"What?"

"I could have died tonight. I've studied the dead my whole life, wondering if our consciousnesses continue after our bodies stop. And in the past months we've seen irrefutable evidence that they do. But it's not the same. The ghosts we catch are just shadows. Half-formed ideas. They're not human. And that means that this is the only life we get. And mine almost ended."

Ray sighed. "Yeah. Pretty heavy stuff."

He nodded. "I keep thinking back over my life. Everything I've done. Everything I haven't."

"You wanna talk about it?"

Egon looked at his friend wondering if he should tell him everything he had been thinking about. He wasn't usually the sharing type. He tended to keep mostly to himself, throwing any inconvenient emotions into his science. But tonight… A vision of huge white fingers reaching toward them flashed through his mind. He may never get another chance to speak to Ray again. He took a deep breath.

"I've made some incredible scientific discoveries. I'm part of a successful ghost-catching business. Tonight I was involved in saving the entire city of New York, possibly even the world. I've done things I never even dreamed were possible."

Ray nodded encouragingly, so he plowed on.

"But as much as my professional life has flourished, I've never managed to accomplish much in my personal life. The living never seem to make sense me the way the dead do. I've never had any sort of serious relationship worth speaking of."

"Hey, that's okay," Ray said, touching his hand. "Relationships aren't everything. You don't need to be in love to be happy."

Egon nodded. "I know that. But tonight, as I faced what I thought may be my final moments alive, I realized that over the past few months I have fallen in love."

Ray's tired face broke into a huge grin. "I knew it! You and Janine, right? She's had her eyes on you since she first started here."

Egon shook his head. "It's not Janine."

"Who then, Dana? Oh, Venkman's not going to be happy if you try to go after her."

Egon shook his head again.

Ray frowned. "No? What other woman have you had any sort of contact with in the past month?"

Egon looked down at the table. "It's not a woman, Ray."

Ray's eyes grew huge. "You-you mean you're…"

"Gay," Egon supplied. "Yes, I think I am."

Ray stared at him silently for a long time.

Egon looked down at the table. This was a bad idea. He should have just let things be. "I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have mentioned anything. I don't expect my affections will be returned. I should just move on."

Ray shook his head. "No, Egon, you should try. Tell him. You never know. Maybe you'll be surprised."

"That seems improbable," Egon said.

"This coming from a man who just fought a giant marshmallow," Ray pointed out. "Come on. Give it a shot!"

"It's you, Ray," Egon said quickly, before he could get too scared.

Ray gave him a blank look. "Me?"

"Yes. Like I said, it's best if I just move on." Egon stood and turned to leave the kitchen. "Please don't tell Venkman. I'd never hear the end of it."

"Wait, Egon!" Ray caught his hand and held it tightly.

Egon looked at their joined hands and said nothing.

"You're really in love with me?"

"All evidence seems to point in that direction, yes."

Ray stood so he was looking Egon in the eye. "Don't move on just yet."

Egon opened his mouth to ask a question, but before he could, Ray's lips were on his, chapped and dry and perfect, and Ray's fingers were twining together with his own and in that moment all their troubles slipped away and everything was right.

It was a long moment before they broke apart and Ray beamed at Egon. "Please don't move on," he repeated.

Egon shook his head. No. There would be no moving on from that


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Egon wonders what last night meant.

Egon woke the next morning to the smell of bacon and coffee. He glanced over at Ray's bed. He still appeared to be fast asleep. The other two beds were empty, meaning that Winston and Peter were already up. Egon changed into his lab clothes and headed down the stairs to the kitchen.

Winston was at the stove frying up a pan of eggs and bacon. He grinned at Egon when he came in. "Morning! Eggs and bacon okay for you? I sent Venkman to the store and that's what he got."

"You sent Venkman to the store," Peter repeated from where he was slumped at the table, eyes closed. "You mean you dragged me out of bed at an ungodly hour and forced me to go buy food for your breakfast?"

"Hey, I don't have access to our bank account and you know it," Winston said. "And six thirty is a perfectly reasonable hour."

Peter snorted and took another sip of coffee.

Egon poured himself a cup of coffee from the pot and sat beside Peter. "Eggs and bacon is fine, thank you."

"There you go," Winston said, placing plates full of bacon and scrambled eggs in front of Peter and Egon. "Eat up!"

Peter took a bite of bacon and made a sound that was almost explicit. "God, this bacon is almost worth being awake for." He shot a glare at Winston. "Almost."

Winston rolled his eyes and sat down with his own plate of food. "Your own fault for not getting the money in order, man."

There was a crash in the hall, followed by a loud curse. Ray appeared in the doorway a moment later looking like he was barely awake. "Morning everybody," he mumbled.

"You okay?" Winston asked. "What was the crash?"

"Stubbed my toe," he explained as he filled a mug with coffee. He stood by the counter and chugged it down before pouring himself another cup.

Winston raised an eyebrow at him but didn't comment. "Eggs and bacon are on the stove."

"Thanks." He shuffled over to the stove to serve himself.

Egon watched him as he transferred the rest of the contents of the pan clumsily onto a plate and sat across the table where he started shoveling food into his mouth. He frowned. Ray hadn't so much as glanced at him all morning. Had their kiss not meant anything to him? Had he forgotten it already? Or had it maybe never even happened? Was it all just a dream that he had convinced himself was real? And what did that say about him that his dreams had gotten that vivid? He would have to do a brain scan later.

"Egon?"

Egon looked around quickly at Winston, realizing as he did so that he had been staring at Ray. Winston was looking at him expectantly. "Er, I'm sorry, I missed the question."

"Peter and I are going to the mayor's office to get our money," Winston said. "Do you want to come with us?"

"No, I need to stay and run some tests on the materials I collected last night. I want to figure out why our proton packs couldn't fight it and how I can alter them to make them stronger."

Winston nodded. "All right. Ray?"

Ray looked up from his eggs and glanced at Egon for the first time that morning. "No, I'll stay and help Egon."

"Okay. Peter, put some clothes on and let's go."

Peter frowned at him. "I'm sorry. Why do they get to decide to stay here, but when I want to stay here I'm 'not pulling my weight'?"

"Because they're on the science side of this operation and you and I are on the business side. We need a PR person, and god help us but that's you."

Peter stood up. "I'll have you know that I am wonderful at PR. And to prove it I'll go get dressed and come with you to talk to the mayor."

Winston shook his head as Peter left. "That man is so predictable," he said, getting up from the table.

Egon looked at Ray again. Winston was going to leave them alone. He would have to talk to Ray about the kiss. If Ray even wanted to talk about the kiss. If he remembered the kiss at all. If Egon hadn't imagined it entirely.

He stood up. "I should get to work."

He practically ran out of the kitchen toward the lab. He shook his head as he took out the samples of ghostly marshmallow and charred hellhound that he'd collected the day before and set them out on the lab bench. He knew he wasn't the first person to fall for his best friend. But he had no idea it would be this hard to get over. Ray had kissed him. Unless he had dreamed it. And now he was avoiding him. Unless he was just nervous. Egon shook his head again and peered down the microscope at the first sample.

"Egon?" came a small voice from the door.

"A labcoat and goggles must be worn at all times in the lab," Egon said without looking up.

Ray grabbed the items off a hook and pulled them on as he walked toward Egon. "We need to talk about last night."

"We kissed."

"Yeah."

Egon pushed the microscope away and looked at Ray. "It was late at night. We were both under a lot of emotional stress. Now that it has passed we can go back to the way we were before."

Was it his imagination or did Ray look disappointed?

"Before?"

"Yes. You are not obligated to continue a relationship with me just because we kissed once."

Ray put his hand over Egon's where it rested on the lab bench between them. "I kissed you first."

Egon stared at Ray's hand. "What do you mean?"

"I want this too. As long as you do?"

"I do," Egon said quickly.

Ray smiled at him from across the lab bench. "Then let's give it a shot."

Egon nodded slowly.

"Kissing you was unexpected," Ray explained. "But I don't know. It felt right. Like kissing never did before. You know what I mean?"

Egon slowly turned over the hand under Ray's so they were holding hands properly. "I know what you mean."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winston and Peter return from their talk with the mayor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this chapter is a bit short, and it deals more with plot than with cute stuff. In any case, here it is!

A door slammed upstairs, making both Ray and Egon jump.

"That'll be Peter and Winston," Ray said. "Do we tell them?"

Egon shook his head. "Best not to. We don't want to make a big deal out of this if nothing's going to come of it."

"All right," said Ray, dropping Egon's hand. "Then I guess let's go see how things went with the mayor."

There was another crash from upstairs, like a garbage can being thrown against a wall. "I think I have a pretty good guess how it went," Egon said as he took off his lab goggles and headed up the stairs.

Peter was pacing up and down the garage area and muttering, occasionally stopping to kick or punch an inanimate object. Winston stood off to the side, watching Peter with his arms folded.

"That bad, huh?" Ray asked.

"The mayor's not paying us," Winston told him without taking his eyes off Peter's angry pacing.

"Not paying? But why?"

"He says it doesn't look good to be paying the people responsible for destroying half a city block and freeing thousands of ghosts in the middle of downtown."

Peter knocked a toolbox off a table with a loud crash. Egon flinched at the noise and tightly squeezed the stress ball in his pocket. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Ray close his eyes tight.

"But we weren't the ones who destroyed things," Egon said. "That was Gozer."

"I know," Winston agreed. "But apparently there are rumours going around that we summoned Gozer ourselves. And all the other ghosts."

Another loud crash as a stack of papers flew off of Janine's desk. Egon imagined what Janine would do to Peter when she saw it and cringed.

"That we summoned Gozer?" Ray repeated. "Why would they think that?

Winston shrugged. "I guess people just aren't ready to believe in ghosts. They think we're frauds just in it for the money and fame."

Ray nodded slowly. "Well okay. Then I guess we just have to make do with the money from regular ghost catching. I mean, we were doing okay before, so we should be okay again."

"Well, actually, the number of ghost sighting in the past month was unusually high," Egon said. "Now that Gozer is gone and the portal has been closed, the number of ghosts in New York will almost certainly plummet back to the baseline."

"What does that mean?"

"It means we'll be lucky to get more than a couple paying clients every month. And with the improvements we need to the containment system and the proton packs, we're going to need every dime we can get."

Ray sank down into the receptionist's chair. "So then we're sunk."

"Not necessarily," Egon said. "We have some money put away from our busy season. That should be enough for some basic equipment upgrades and to tide us over to our next job."

Egon and Ray both flinched as Peter punched a filing cabinet with a loud bang.

“For god’s sake, Peter, cut that out!” Winston said. Peter grumbled and sat down on a stool. “Right,” said Winston. “Okay. So we just have to save a bit more. We can do that. We just have to hope nothing else happens.”

The first lawsuit against them started later that week.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winston convinces Egon to ask Ray out on a date.

Egon frowned and ripped up the paper he was writing on, throwing it in the trash. He sighed and pulled out another sheet. This had to be perfect. Better than perfect. Good enough to prove that they did more good in the city than bad. Good enough to keep the team together. He squeezed the stress ball in his hand tightly and started to write again.

The door to the lab swung open and Egon looked up. It was Winston. Egon hastily hid the hand carrying the stress ball under the table, trying to slide it into his pocket so his co-worker wouldn't notice. Winston walked over to the lab bench and looked at what he was writing. "Still working on that speech?"

"Yes. It's not good enough yet."

Winston shook his head. "You've been at that for weeks, man. Give it a rest."

"I can't rest," he said without looking up. "If I rest, we won't be prepared and we'll lose our case. They'll give us a restraining order, the business will be over and we'll never see each other again."

Winston shook his head. "Egon, listen to me. We aren't unprepared. The three of us are also making statements, and so are Dana and that accountant guy. And we got a good lawyer. You can afford to take an evening off."

Egon said nothing.

"Come on, man. You're no good to us if you burn yourself out."

Still nothing.

He sighed. "I think Ray misses you."

His head snapped up at that and he looked at Winston for the first time since he came in. Winston was smirking as if he'd just confirmed something he'd suspected for a long time.

"How do you know about that? Did Ray tell you?"

He shook his head. "No, I just figured it out. You two are great at a lot of things, but subtlety isn't one of them."

Egon frowned.

"Aw, come on. You two have been cooped up in the lab together all the time, even more than usual. You're playing footsie under the table at breakfast. You keep looking at each other across the room. It'd be pretty hard not to notice."

"Does Janine know?"

"Course she does. She's even more observant than I am. Especially where you're involved, Egon."

He groaned. "Venkman?"

Winston snorted. "You kidding me? That man's about as observant as a brick wall. We could staple Peter's eyes shut and I don't think he'd notice."

Egon nodded. "Don't tell him, okay?"

"Course. None of my business."

"Thank you."

There was a long moment of silence.

"Maybe I have been working to hard."

"Go on. Take Ray out to dinner. Peter and I will take care of things around here. Have fun. Take a break. Your work will be here when you get back."

Egon stood, setting aside his note pad. "Thank you Winston. You've been quite helpful."

He found Ray and Peter working on the car. Well, he found Ray working on the car while Peter stood off to the side watching him. "Ray, can I talk to you?"

"Shoot!" he said without looking up from the radiator he was inspecting.

"Alone," Egon clarified, glancing at Peter.

Peter gasped in mock offense. "You're keeping secrets from me? After all I've done."

Ray looked up at him. "Is this about that thing?"

Egon nodded.

Peter smirked. "Are you two planning me a party?"

"Would we tell you if we were?" Ray asked.

Peter smirked and got up. "All right, I'll leave you two to your… not planning. Just a hint? I like chocolate." He strolled off.

"Does that mean we have to plan him a party now?" Egon asked.

Ray sighed. "Probably. What's up?"

Egon shook his head to clear it. "Right. Raymond, we have kissed, and we have held hands and had personal conversations when we are alone. I believe this is the point in our relationship when one of us needs to ask the other to have dinner."

Ray raised his eyebrows. "You mean like a date?"

"Yes. A date."

Ray put down his rag and grinned. "I'd love that! Let's go!"

Egon nodded. "Good. I need to change my clothing and then we can go."

"Yeah, I need to take a shower." Ray was still grinning as Egon climbed the stairs to the bedroom they all shared.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, the way the therapist his parents had made him see as a kid had taught him. Breathe in. Breathe out. He'd hated the therapist, but the breathing helped. He shook his head. Okay. He was going on a date. A date with Ray. He'd wanted this for a while and now he had it. A date. With Ray. Breathe in. Breathe out.

Okay. First he would need clothes. Nice clothes. Fancy clothes. Date clothes. He stood and went to his closet. There had to be something here. Something nice. Something worthy of Ray. Ray…

He picked out his best black suit and quickly put it on. He picked out three ties and stood in front of the mirror holding each one in front of his neck in turn. This was important. It had to be right. He was going out with Ray.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

He chose a dark blue silk tie and tied it around his neck. He would be okay. He had a good tie. Everything would be okay.

He went to his lab coat and went through the pockets, transferring anything he would need for the night into his suit. Wallet. Keys. A pen. His hand brushed up against his stress ball and he took it out. He hesitated. It would be good to have. If the evening got too much, it would be nice to be able to squeeze it to calm down.

But what if Ray saw? What if he saw the ball and found out Egon was weird? What if he decided he didn't want to date anymore? What if he left the restaurant? What if he left the Ghostbusters?

Egon shook his head. No. Breathe in. Breathe out. He was being ridiculous. This wasn't his high school prom date. It was Ray. Ray was a good guy. He liked Egon. He wasn't about to be scared off by a little red ball of foam. It would all be okay.

He slipped the ball into his jacket pocket. It made a slight bulge, but nothing too noticeable. After all, this wasn't a trial or a job interview. This was Ray. And Ray could forgive a bulge. He nodded to himself in the mirror before heading down the stairs to wait for Ray.

He heard a whistle when he got to the bottom of the stairs. Right. Peter. He'd forgotten.

The psychologist was perched on the edge of Janine's desk. Janine did not look happy about it.

"Hello Peter," Egon said as he approached them. "Hello Janine."

"Hi Egon," said Janine. "Nice suit!"

"Thank you," he said. "The dress you're wearing is also attractive."

Janine blushed. "Oh Egon…"

"What's with the getup?" Peter asked. "You going to a funeral or something?"

"Uh, no," he said, running his hands down the front of his jacket self-consciously. "I, uh, I was just-"

"Hey guys!" Ray came down the stairs in a dress shirt and slacks. Not exactly formal wear, but a definite step higher than his usual crumpled t-shirts and old jeans.

Egon smiled. "You look wonderful."

"Thanks! You look- Wow! You look great! Am I underdressed?"

"No, you look perfect. Let's go."

Peter raised an eyebrow. "You two going somewhere together?"

Egon glanced at Ray. He looked tense. "Yes," he said. "There's a talk on quantum physics tonight at the university. It opens a very promising new area of research for the scientific community."

Peter snorted. "You know, I'm surprised you two even survived high school. Going to physics lectures on your time off…"

Ray smiled at him. "We're taking Ecto 1. That okay, Janine?"

She shrugged. "Fine by me. You kids have fun!"

"We will," Egon said as they left. "And thank you!"

Janine waved to them as they drove away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was getting a bit long so I split it in half. Ray and Egon's date coming soon!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray and Egon go on a date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize in advance for how awful this is. Guess who can't write date scenes? It's me!

"You lied to Peter?" Ray asked as they pulled away.

"I didn't lie," Egon told him. "There is a physics lecture at the university today. There's a physics lecture almost every day. I never said that was where we were going."

Ray laughed, shaking his head. "So if we're not going to a physics lecture, where are we going?"

"To a restaurant," Egon said. "A nice Italian place by the river."

"Sounds nice."

Egon parked outside and got out of the car, waiting for Ray on the sidewalk. They walked toward the restaurant together. Yes. This was good. A nice proper first date. Ray would like this.

Egon felt Ray's hand slide into his own. He yanked his hand back before he could think. Ray frowned at him. Offended? Concerned?

"You okay, Egon?"

Concerned.

"I'm fine. Sorry. I just wasn't expecting that."

Ray reached for his hand again, but Egon didn't let him take it. He glanced around. "Not here. Too many people."

"Egon, they won't care. Nobody here knows us!"

Egon shook his head. "We're public figures. Somebody always knows us. And as far as that person is concerned, we need to be two colleagues out for the evening. Otherwise the news will get out, and somebody will care."

Ray gave Egon a look so clearly disappointed that it broke his heart a bit. "So, we can really never tell anybody?"

He sighed. "I'm sorry Ray. I just don't think it's a good idea right now. We have the trial coming up and all…"

Ray nodded. "All right. It's okay. If it means that much to you we'll keep it to ourselves."

"Thank you Ray," Egon said as he pushed the door to the restaurant open. He walked up to the greeter. "Table for two please."

"Certainly. Do you have a reservation."

"No. We made plans last minute."

The man looked up from the seating chart. "Sir, this is a Friday evening. You can't expect us to have tables available."

Egon frowned. Breathe in. Breathe out. "There's nothing?"

The man shook his head. "I am sorry sir."

Egon's shoulders slumped. Great. He'd ruined their first date.

Ray put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. I have a better idea anyway."

Egon bit his lip and followed Ray out of the restaurant. Stupid. Of course they couldn't get in here last minute. What was he thinking?

Breathe in. Breathe out.

"You okay?" Ray asked gently.

He nodded. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. There were lots of people in there anyway. Looked pretty crowded. If we're trying to keep this relationship private, we should probably do something else anyway."

Egon nodded again. "You have another idea?"

"Yeah. I'll drive. Give me the keys."

Egon handed them over and slid into the passenger seat. He put a hand in his pocket to give the stress ball a squeeze. He sighed, forcing himself to relax. It would be okay. Ray didn't seem to mind. But he'd better pick up his act soon or he'd never have a shot at a second date.

Ray plopped down in the seat next to him and grinned. "How do you feel about McDonalds?"

Egon frowned. "McDonalds?"

"Yeah! It's perfect! Fancy sit-down restaurants are clearly date places. Nobody would believe we're having dinner just as friends. But loads of people eat fast food together! It's completely neutral!"

"We're a little bit overdressed for fast food, don't you think?"

Ray shrugged. "So we go through the drive through and then find a place to park somewhere and eat in the car. Completely private."

Egon considered for a moment. "All right. McDonalds."

Ray grinned as he pulled out of the parking lot.

They parked Ecto 1 in an abandoned lot, far from any prying eyes. Egon looked through the bag of food and handed Ray his burger and fries with a chocolate milkshake.

Ray grinned at him as he took a bite. Egon smiled back at him. It wasn't how he thought their first date would go, but there was something nice about sitting in a car with Ray, far away from the other Ghostbusters, far from their jobs and their paperwork and the cloud of worry that had hung over the fire hall since they found out about the lawsuits. It was just him and Ray, together and happy. He felt the tension in his shoulders relax as he took a bite of his chicken burger.

"Egon?"

"Hm?"

"You're not ashamed of me, are you?"

"Ashamed? Of course not."

Ray nodded. "Okay. Good. I don't know. You just don't seem to want to tell anybody about us. You didn't want to hold hands. You lied to Peter…"

Egon fingered his stress ball through his pocket. Breathe in. Breathe out. "I'm sorry."

"Why can't we tell people? At least the guys. They'll be okay with it."

"Probably," Egon said. "But they might not be. And the trial is coming up. We need to be united or the judge will split us up."

Ray shook his head. "I can't see Peter having a problem with it. Zeddemore… well I don't know him as well, and I suppose he is religious…"

"He knows."

"What?"

"Winston knows. He encouraged me to ask you out tonight."

Ray smiled. "He did?"

Egon nodded.

"Then why can't we tell the guys?"

Egon hesitated. They were risking a lot. If Peter didn't like it, if he decided never to talk to them again, it could ruin everything. Their relationship. Their jobs. Everything.

He looked at Ray. Ray wanted this. Ray wanted to tell his friend about his new relationship. He nodded. "All right. But after the trial."

"After the trial," Ray agreed.

Egon nodded and slipped his hand into his coat pocket to give his stress ball a squeeze. It was okay. It would be okay. Breathe in. Breathe out.

"You okay?" Ray asked.

Egon shook his head, taking the ball out of his pocket to play with between his hands. "This isn't how this evening was supposed to go. We were supposed to get a table at a nice restaurant. We were supposed to talk about pleasant things that mean very little like the weather and our hobbies. Then I was supposed to drive you home and we were supposed to kiss before going back into the firehall at the end of the evening. That's how a first date is supposed to go. But I didn't make reservations, and I lied to Peter and now I've ruined the whole thing."

"Egon, it's okay," Ray said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I've been on first dates like that. None of them has been any good."

Egon looked down at the ground.

"That's what you do when you don't know a person. It's awkward and stiff and nobody remembers what happened. It's just two people doing something big together but only talking about the small stuff. The dates you remember are the ones like this. Where you do something small but talk about things that are big. And they're good because you're with somebody you care about."

"We're eating hamburgers in a parked car."

"We're spending time together."

Egon looked up. "You mean it?"

"Yeah," he said. "I'd far rather do this with you than do something else with another person."

Egon shook his head. "You're being a much better date than I am."

Ray reached over the console to put his hand over Egon's, still holding the ball. "You're doing fine. I'm having a good time. Really."

Egon smiled at him. "I'm enjoying myself too."

Ray looked down at their joined hands. "What's this?"

"Oh," Egon said, hastily putting the ball back in his pocket with his free hand. "That's nothing."

Ray nodded. He looked like he wanted to ask more questions, but he said nothing.

Egon bit his lip. Ray was being so nice…

"It's a stress ball," he explained. "I usually keep it in my lab coat, but I brought it along in case I needed it tonight."

"Can I see?" Ray asked.

Egon frowned. He'd never shown anybody his stress ball. He'd never even talked about it before. But… Ray.

"It's okay," Ray said after a moment. "You don't have to."

Egon shook his head and took the ball out of his pocket. "No. I want to."

Ray took it and gave it a gentle squeeze. He smiled. "That does feel good! I see why you like it!"

Egon watched him, feeling himself relax as Ray moved the ball from hand to hand, squeezing it happily.

"That's great!" Ray said as he handed it back. "I should get one of those!"

Egon slipped it back into his pocket. "I'm glad you like it."

Ray grinned. "You know, part of that hypothetical date didn't sound so bad…"

"Oh?" Egon asked. "Which part?"

"The part where we drive home together and kiss in the driveway before going inside. If you still feel up for that."

Egon nodded. "That sounds like a good plan."

Ray smiled at him as he started the car. They held hands the whole way back to the firehouse.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trial doesn't go well.

The four men sat silently around the kitchen table, staring at the piece of blue paper sitting in the middle. A judicial restraining order, saying that they were strictly forbidden from performing services as paranormal investigators or eliminators. In other words, that their days of busting ghosts were over.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Egon had been doing his breathing exercises since they got home, but he could still feel the knot of anxiety in his chest.

He went back over the hearing for the three hundredth time since getting back from the court house. He'd thought it was going well. They had made their case, explained all the good they had done in getting the ghosts out of the city, everything had been going fine. Then the opposing lawyer presented the case against them. A list of all the people that wanted them shut down. A list that seemed to consist of every state, county and city agency in New York. He called them a danger to the public. He showed pictures of the damage Gozer had done to the buildings downtown. And the judge had agreed. The gavel came down. The restraining order was signed. The Ghostbusters were no more. And now they sat, staring at the paper that sealed their fates.

Winston broke the silence. "So what now?"

Ray sighed. "Now we put away our ghost stuff and get jobs, I guess. Let this go."

Breathe in. Breathe out. It would be okay. They would all find jobs, and then-

"Then we never see each other again?" Peter asked.

Egon swallowed hard. Breathe in. Breathe out. He instinctively reached for the ball in his pocket before remembering that he'd left it in his lab coat to avoid avoid a bump in his pocket when he was in court.

"No way," said Winston. "They're not breaking us up. We're still the Ghostbusters!"

"Not any more we're not." Peter. "We can't even look at a ghost without violating that thing!"

Egon stood. "Excuse me." He turned to leave. He needed to be alone. He needed his stress ball. He needed to escape. He needed to process.

A hand on his shoulder. Breathe in. Breathe out. Peter's hand. "You okay, Spengs?"

Egon stopped. Breathe in. Breathe out. "I'm fine. Please let me go."

The hand tightening. Turning him around. Breathe in. Peter standing. Looking at him. Breathe out. "Hey. Look at me. You okay?"

Egon stared at Peter's collar. It was the closest he could get to his face. "I'm fine."

"Come on. Look me in the eye."

Breathe in.

A hand on his chin. Another hand too tight on his shoulder.

Breathe out.

"Peter…" Ray's voice. Low. Warning.

The hand forcing his chin up. Forcing him to look at Peter. Breathe in. Peter's face. Breathe out. Too close. Breathe. Too much. Breathe. Eyes boring into his skull. Breathe. Too much. Too much.

His own hand lashing out. Pushing Peter away. His body twisting. Trying to get away from the hand on his arm.

A shout. The hand tightening. Digging in. Pulling. Arms wrapping around his body. Crushing. Restricting. Too tight. Too close. Too much.

"Peter!" Ray.

"Help me hold him!" Peter.

Struggling. Kicking. A wordless scream that may have come from his own body. Arms getting tighter. Can't move. Can't think. Can't breathe.

Another scream that may have just been in his mind.

The arms leaving his body. A crash. Peter thrown back against the table. Ray standing over Peter. Ray's voice shouting. Loud. Angry.

His own arms wrapping around himself. Breathe in.

Peter's voice. Loud. Angry. Breathe out.

Walking backward. Hitting a wall. Breathe in.

Ray's voice. "…off of him!"

Breathe out.

Sliding down the wall. Curling into a ball on the floor.

Breathe in.

Peter's voice. Angry. "…psychologist…medical degree…know what I'm doing…danger to himself."

His eyes closing. Darkness.

"…no idea what the hell you're…"

"…this for years…"

"You can't just grab…"

"He attacked me!"

"You attacked him first!"

Breathe in. Breathe out.

"I didn't do anything! He's the one-"

"Woah, woah, woah!" Winston. "Stop yelling! He doesn't seem to be attacking anyone right now, and you two yelling isn't going to solve anything."

A moment of silence. Perfect silence. Then Ray's voice, from much closer. Crouched beside him. "Egon, you okay?"

Egon shook his head no, eyes still pressed closed.

"What do you need?"

His stress ball. He needed his stress ball.

"What do you need?"

He hadn't said it out loud. He tried. He couldn't.

His mouth wasn't working. Words wouldn't come. He raised his hand and squeezed it into a fist a few times. He opened his eyes and looked up at Ray desperately, hoping he understood.

Ray frowned at his hand. Then his eyebrows went up. "The stress ball?"

He nodded.

"Winston, there's a small red ball in the pocket of Egon's lab coat."

"I'm on it."

Winston left.

"Are you ready to move?"

He shook his head.

Ray nodded. "Peter, can you get some blankets and pillows?"

"I'm sorry, who put you in charge? Again, I'm the one with the psychology degree!"

Ray sighed. "Egon would you rather Peter took charge?"

Egon shook his head quickly.

"Come on, he doesn't know what he's saying!"

"Peter! Blankets! Now!"

"Twelve years of psychology school and he has me getting blankets…"

Peter left.

Ray gave him a gentle smile. "Do you want to be alone?"

Egon nodded.

"All right," Ray said. "I'll wait til Winston and Peter get back and get you settled and then I'll leave and take them with me. Does that sound okay?"

Egon nodded again. He could feel himself starting to relax under the influence of Ray's calm voice.

Winston came running back into the room, Egon's stress ball clutched in his hand. "This what you wanted?" he asked, holding it out.

Egon took it from him and held it close to his chest. He squeezed it tight in his hand.

"Thanks Winston," said Ray. "Do you mind finding another place to be for a while? Egon needs a bit of alone time."

"Course," he said. "You just call me if you need anything."

"We will," Ray told him. "Thank you."

Winston passed a very grumpy-looking Peter on his way out the door.

Peter dumped a pile of blankets on the floor. "Is there anything else you'd like me to use my years of expertise to acquire for you?" he asked sarcastically.

"No, that's fine, Peter," Ray told him. "Right now, Egon just needs to be alone."

Peter rolled his eyes. "You can't baby him, Ray. Positive reinforcement is only going to-"

"Out!"

Egon flinched and covered his ears.

"Sorry," said Ray. "Okay. I'll be in the next room. If you need me you just have to call or thump on the wall and I'll hear you, okay?"

Egon nodded.

Ray turned to leave. Egon felt panic start to well up in his chest again. He didn't want Ray to go. He wanted to be near him. Ray helped. He quickly grabbed Ray's hand before he could disappear.

Ray turned back to look at him. "You need something else?"

Egon pulled Ray's hand down, trying to get him to sit.

"You want me to stay?"

He nodded.

Ray smiled softly at him and put a pillow from the pile down by the wall. He sat down, close enough to give comfort but not so close as to invade Egon's personal space without permission.

Egon hesitated for a moment before scooting a bit closer and resting his head on Ray's shoulder.

Ray smiled and kissed the top of his head. "I'm here Egon."

They sat together in comfortable silence.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Egon recovers from his meltdown and has a conversation with Ray.

It was over an hour before Egon sat up straight, stretching his back.

Ray looked up at him. "You feeling better?"

"Yes," he said. "I'm sorry you had to see that."

Ray shook his head. "It's fine Egon. Don't worry about it."

"It was the trial," he explained. "The trial and wondering if we would be shut down and not knowing what I would do when I need to get my own job. I thought maybe I would answer Columbia's open call for research submissions. They hire people doing research they like. I thought I could keep working with ghosts, but in theory like I used to do before all this started. But then the restraining order said we can't even investigate, and now I don't know what I'm going to study and-"

"Egon."

He stopped talking and looked at the floor.

"Calm down. You're going to work yourself into another meltdown. Just breathe, okay?"

He nodded. Breathe in. Breathe out. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I understand."

He shook his head. "No you don't. This meltdown wasn't an isolated incident, Ray. I have autism. This has happened before and if you stay with me you're going to see it happen again."

Ray nodded. "Okay. Then you're going to have to teach me what I can do to help you when you get that way."

Egon stared at him. Did he really not mind? Nobody had ever taken the news quite like this. Did he already know? Had he figured it out?

Ray waited patiently for him to process.

"Don't touch me when I'm like that," Egon finally said. "And especially don't grab me and force me to look at you. That makes everything worse than it already was."

"Yeah," Ray said. "Peter really didn't handle that well."

Egon shook his head.

There was a moment of silence.

"Ray, I know I said that we would tell Peter about us as soon as the trial was over, but…"

"He's not safe for you right now."

He nodded. "Do you mind?"

He shook his head. "Of course not. I've had my fair share of psychologists who thought they knew what's best for me too."

Egon looked up at him. "Psychologists? Why?" He stopped himself. "Sorry. That was rude. You don't need to tell me."

Ray shook his head. "No, it's okay. I have Aspergers Syndrome. My parents forced me to go to six different psychologists as a kid. This one guy I had used to tie me to my chair if I wiggled around even a bit. Another guy wouldn't let me read any of my ghost books unless I could make eye contact with him for twenty seconds straight while he practically glared at me, like he was rooting for me to fail. It was ridiculous. Nobody makes eye contact for that long! Why do I have to do it just because it's harder for me?" He sighed and shook his head. "Trust me. I understand."

Egon nodded. "Psychologists can be bad."

"Yeah," Ray said. "When I'd melt down in a session they would try to hold me down and it just made everything worse. Like what Peter did to you."

Egon raised an eyebrow. "You've had meltdowns?"

Ray nodded. "Still do. I usually manage to keep them bottled up until I'm alone. In my bedroom when I was a kid. Now I let myself go in the bathroom sometimes, or when you're all out on a case. But yeah, if you stay with me I'll probably end up having one around you sometime too."

Egon nodded and settled back against the wall. "They feel awful."

"Like being hit by a truck," Ray agreed.

"Lights and sounds seem to be so much more."

"For me it's smells. A tiny little smell suddenly feels huge."

"And like you're shrinking. Or the world is growing. But relatively that's the same thing."

Ray nodded.

They were silent for a moment, each thinking their own thoughts.

"Do you think it actually happens?"

Egon turned to look at him. "Do I think what happens?"

"Do you think the lights and smells and sounds are actually more intense? Even a little? Like our mental states are psychically affecting the physical environment."

"I don't know. It's an interesting idea."

"There must be a way we can test that."

Egon nodded slowly. "We could put people in rooms, induce strong emotions, then measure light and temperature and such in the room. We could get some good results."

Ray grinned at him. "Egon, that's brilliant! It's not explicitly paranormal. It doesn't violate the restraining order. We could study that!"

Egon nodded. "If we could find a sample population to test and sufficient resources to perform the experiment."

Ray was still grinning. "Columbia. That's the perfect response to their call for researchers."

"You want to submit to do a research project together?"

"It's perfect!" he said. "We'd both have jobs, and we could do science together like we used to!"

Egon nodded. "I've missed doing science. Most of the work around here is engineering. There's not as much experimentation as I would like."

Ray nodded. "And who knows! If our theory is correct, there could be a lot more work to do in the area. We could have work for the rest of our lives!"

Egon stood up. "I'll go get some paper. We need to start drafting our experiment right away."

He hurried out of the kitchen to get some supplies. The world was starting to feel a touch better again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Egon being autistic is based on how I read that character. Ray being autistic is based on the fact that he's a self-insert character for Dan Aykroyd who is autistic.
> 
> Yes, I know that autism and Aspergers are the same thing. But for reasons of historical accuracy I have to pretend they're different here.
> 
> Also, sorry for the inconsistent chapter lengths. That just seems to be how things are working out!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I don't even know. Too much happens in this chapter to summarize!

Janine threw a stack of letters down on the table, making Egon jump. She put her hands on her hips. "Guess what came in the mail today?"

"A pony?" Peter asked.

"No! A notice from the bank saying my pay cheque bounced!"

Ray glanced nervously at Winston.

"You said you were going to find a way to pay me!" Janine told them. "I got bills too you know!"

"I'm sorry Janine," said Ray. "We'll find something. How much do you need?"

She glared at him. "Nothing. I quit! You don't need me. The phone never rings anymore. All I am is a charity case, and now I'm a charity case you're not even paying!"

"Janine…" Peter said.

"Don't you Janine me," she said. "I'm a competent secretary and I deserve to go where I'm valued. And paid!"

She gave a firm nod to the group as a whole before turning to Egon. Her face softened as she reached out to touch his face. "If you ever need me, call me, okay?"

Egon frowned in confusion at her touch, but nodded. "You'll be the first to know if the court order gets overturned."

Janine smiled. She took a deep breath as if bracing herself before bending down to kiss his forehead. She waved to him as she left the room. "Bye bye, Egon."

Egon felt his face flush red. He glanced at Ray, who looked amused. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Peter grinning, but he ignored it.

Winston sighed. "I guess that means the money's gone. We gotta figure out what we're doing next or we're going to get real hungry real fast."

Peter reached for the mail and started going through it. Probably looking for something from Dana.

Ray shook his head. "Come on Winston. There's no we anymore. The Ghostbusters are done. We've all just gotta let it go."

"Come on!" Winston said. "Stop being such a pessimist. Just because we can't bust ghosts anymore doesn't mean we're not still Ghostbusters!"

Peter snorted without looking up from the mail. "Okay. Zeddemore's gone loopy. Anybody else?"

Ray glared at Peter.

"I'm serious!" Winston insisted. "We can't actually do anything with ghosts, but we're still public figures. We can use that. Rent ourselves out for kids' birthday parties and stuff. People will pay us just to show up!"

Peter rolled his eyes. "Winston, I'm serious. You need to check your meds or something."

Ray stood up so fast that his chair flew back. "Shut up, Peter! Nobody asked you!"

Egon flinched at the sudden noise.

"You judge everything!" Ray yelled. "You can't just let anything be! First with Egon, and now you-"

"Ray," Egon said softly.

"Again with the Egon thing? That was over a week ago! Who's the one not letting it go?"

Egon stood up and started toward the door.

"Look, he's leaving! Why don't you grab him and wrestle him to the ground?"

"Ray, everything I did was common psychological practice! It's what any good psychologist would have done!"

"Common practice for psychologists is not the same as good behaviour for friends!"

Egon sped up, trying to get out of earshot of the pair of them. He'd been giving Peter the silent treatment ever since the incident after the trial. Not Ray though. Ray was being anything but quiet about what he thought of the situation.

He headed down to his lab. It was quiet down there. Quiet and safe. He gave a heavy sigh as he sat down on a stool. It was over. No more ghosts. No more lab. No more fire hall. All gone forever. He took his stress ball out of his pocket and rolled it absently across the countertop from one hand to the other. Peter was right. There was nothing to do now but move on.

There was a soft knock on the door. "Egon? Can I come in?"

Egon looked up. "Yes. Come in."

Ray entered, looking sheepish. "Hey. Sorry about the yelling. You okay?"

He nodded. "I'm sorry I left."

"It's okay."

Ray sat down on another stool across the lab bench from him.

"Peter's moving out."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. He's going to find a place of his own where he can get some distance from us."

Egon nodded.

Ray sighed and slumped forward to rest his head on his hand. "I told him I wouldn't miss him, but I think I lied."

He nodded again, staring at the ball as it rolled across the table.

"I mean, he's the most annoying and egotistical guy I know. And what he did to you was inexcusable. But we've known each other since grad school. I made sure he got some sleep and helped him pass his classes. He taught be to flirt. Or he tried to. You don't forget something like that."

"It's all right Ray. You don't have to be angry with him."

He nodded. "I know. I'm still mad. I just know it's going to be strange to not see him anymore. It just kinda hit me all at once. The team is breaking up."

There was another long silence.

After a few minutes, Ray slid an envelope across the lab bench to him. "This came in the mail. It's addressed to both of us."

Egon looked down at the letter. It was from Columbia. "A response to our research proposal."

"Yeah. I figured we should open it together."

He looked up at Ray. Ray smiled gently. "Go on. Open it. "

Egon took a deep breath and tore the envelope open, unfolding the single sheet of paper inside. "Dear. Dr. Spengler and Dr. Stantz," he read aloud. "We have reviewed your research proposal and find it intriguing. We would be glad to have you perform this research here at Columbia University."

"Yes!" Ray cheered, jumping up and punching the air. "Egon baby we are back in business!"

Egon scanned the rest of the letter. "Um, Ray?"

"We'll be back in a proper research lab!" Ray said, grinning like he'd won the lottery. "Proper equipment, proper funding…"

"Ray."

"Come on, Egon, celebrate! This is what we want!" He frowned. "Egon? Is something wrong?"

"They only have one opening for a researcher."

"What?" Ray said, sitting back down. "That's impossible! How can they do that?"

He passed the paper across the bench. "Read it yourself."

Ray read it, a frown slowly replacing his ecstatic grin as he did so. He looked up when he was done.

"But… we submitted that proposal together."

"I know."

"We wrote, designed and submitted the whole thing as a team! We were supposed to work together! That was the deal!"

"I know."

Ray sighed and shook his head as he put the paper down on the table. "So what now?"

"We could try calling them and asking them to hire both of us," Egon suggested.

Ray shook his head. "That'll never work. They'll just cut us altogether and bring in some other scientist who doesn't mind working alone."

"Then what do you suggest?"

Ray shrugged. "One of us needs to take the job. There's no point in both of us being unemployed."

Egon said nothing.

"You should do it," said Ray. "You designed the experiment. That's the part they look at more than anything."

He shook his head. "I don't want the job."

"It's fine! I don't need it. Really. I can do something else. I'll join Winston's party business or something."

"No. I'm not taking it."

"Egon, you're a scientist! That's what you do! Take the job!"

"Ray! I don't want the job!"

"Why not?!"

"Because I love you!"

Ray stared at him in stunned silence.

Egon sighed and looked down at the counter.

"You…"

"If I accept this job, we won't work together anymore," he told him. "That means we won't see each other anymore. And I don't know if I could handle that."

Ray reached across to put a hand over his. "We'll still see each other. I promise. I'll come by the university to pick you up every single day if you want me to. You'll see me so much you'll be sick of me."

Egon took Ray's extended hand and gave it a soft squeeze. "I wouldn't get sick of you."

Ray smiled. "Take the job, Egon."

He nodded. "All right. I'll call tomorrow."

\---

"Egon?"

The whispered voice came from the shadows beside his bed. Without his glasses, he could barely make out Ray's shape in the darkness, crouched in the space between his bed and Peter's.

"Ray?" he whispered back. "Is something wrong? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. I just… I couldn't sleep. And I thought, if you were awake, maybe we could…"

"Ray," he said softly. "I don't think I'm quite ready to… progress physically."

Ray shook his head. "No, not that. I just… can we snuggle?"

"Snuggle?"

"Yeah. Is that okay?"

Egon considered for a moment. He and Ray were usually the first two up in the morning anyway. Peter and Winston would never know.

He lifted the covers and shifted so Ray could lie beside him.

Ray climbed into the bed, curling up into a tight ball against Egon's chest.

Egon hesitated a moment before draping an arm over Ray's waist. He felt Ray shift in the darkness, pressing closer to his body.

"Egon?"

"Yes, Ray?"

"I don't want to be separated either."

Egon nodded, even though he knew Ray couldn't see it. "We won't be. I'll make sure of it."

He felt Ray nod against his chest. He was silent for a long time, and Egon almost thought he had fallen asleep. Until:

"Egon?"

"Mm?"

"I think I love you too."

Egon smiled and tightened his arms around his boyfriend. "Good night Ray."

"Good night Egon."

He fell asleep feeling more at peace than he had in a long time.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray and Egon wake up together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter inspired in part by a conversation with Tumblr user protectegon.
> 
> Sorry about how long this took and how short it is. Life is busy!

Egon woke up to the sun streaming in through the windows, and Ray's arm wrapped tightly around his waist. He felt more warm and safe than he could remember ever feeling upon waking up. He kissed the top of his head, and Ray's eyes slowly blinked open. Ray grinned up at Egon. "Morning."

"Good morning," Egon replied. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, Ray, how did you sleep?" came a voice from behind Egon.

Ray scrambled out of the bed, pulling a sheet over himself despite the fact that he was fully clothed. Egon instinctively grabbed the spare proton pack he kept by his bed and pointed it at the source of the voice.

Peter laughed and took a sip of his coffee. "My, you're jumpy today!"

Egon lowered the weapon, feeling his heart rate slowly return to normal. "How long have you been sitting there?"

Peter shrugged. "'Bout twenty minutes. You looked so peaceful!"

Egon looked over at Ray. They'd overslept. They got too comfortable and they overslept and now Peter knew.

"Soooo…" Peter probed.

"I-it's not what it looks like!" Ray stammered.

Peter raised an eyebrow. "And what does it look like, Ray?"

Ray stared at Egon, looking more than a little panicked.

Egon took a deep breath. "Ray and I are in a romantic relationship."

Peter grinned and slapped Egon on the back. "Well there we go! It's about time!"

Ray frowned. "What?"

"I tried to set you two up in college. Didn't expect it to take this long to make it stick!"

Egon glanced over at Ray, who looked just as confused as Egon felt.

Peter laughed. "Aw, come on. You have to have known!" He glanced between the two of them. "Seriously? You didn't know? You two are even slower than I thought!"

"I'm not slow," Egon muttered under his breath.

Ray sat down on the edge of the bed again. "So, I guess everybody knows then. Well. Everybody we were going to tell."

"So I'm the last one you told then?"

"Yeah. Winston and Janine knew weeks ago."

Peter sighed. "Is it because of the incident with the meltdown?"

Egon nodded silently.

Peter didn't say anything for a few moments. Finally he spoke. "I guess I should probably apologize for that, huh?"

"Yes, you should," Ray said firmly.

Peter glanced at him before turning his full attention on Egon. "I'm sorry Egon. Really. You're an adult. I should have treated you like one."

"Thank you, Peter," he said quietly.

Peter stood up. "Well then. Good chat. But I didn't just get up early to stare at you two lovebirds. I have an apartment to find! As you were." He winked as he left the room.

Ray ran his fingers through his hair. "Well, I guess this means we don't have to hide anymore. At least not around here."

He nodded. "That will be nice."

Ray took his hand. "I love you, Egon."

He smiled. "I love you too, Ray."

Ray leaned in and gave him a gentle kiss. "Everything's going to be okay."

Egon nodded. As long as he could keep kissing Ray like this, it would be.


	10. Apologies and a summary

Hey guys,

So I've been trying to write this for a while now, but I haven't been able to, mostly because I have no idea where to go from here. I have basic plot elements, but no specific scenes that I'm particularly working toward. As a result, this whole thing is getting hard to write and I think if I keep writing it tge quality will suffer and I really don't want that to happen.

So I've decided to stop writing this fic.

I'm really sorry to do this. I've loved writing it and hearing from you about how you liked it. But I don't think I can keep going right now.

I hope you understand.

TheVioletSunflower


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